Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Shares Up 1.2%

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s share price shot up 1.2% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $46.42 and last traded at $46.08. 1,571,331 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 11,178,731 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.55.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on MO. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.90.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.7 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $78.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $45.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.75.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The business had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The company’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.18 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total transaction of $988,303.65. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 154.4% in the 1st quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, ZRC Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 67.6% in the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Company Profile

Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company offers cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; large cigars and pipe tobacco under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; oral nicotine pouches under the on! brand; and e-vapor products under the NJOY ACE brand.